U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,999,696 and 4,014,487 disclose systems for directing the end or tail of a moving web to a predetermined location such as into threading engagement with rolls forming a nip or the like. In the aforesaid systems, a gas such as air is directed through a restricted opening under pressure whereupon it attaches itself to a flow attachment surface due to the "Coanda effect", is directed to the predetermined location, and entrains ambient air. The tail of the web is placed into the path of the moving gas and entrained thereby. The gas is moving at a velocity greater than the velocity of the moving web and thus the web tail is straightened out and directed to the predetermined location.
In the arrangements illustrated in the aforesaid patents a web tail is received by the system and project directly forwardly to the desired location. There are, however, some manufacturing environments in which it is desirable to project a moving web, such as a paper web, to a location laterally offset from the direction in which the web is moving. One such situation occurs in paper machines wherein an offset rope nip may be employed to transport a web tail through a series of dryer cans or the like during the threading operation.
The present invention provides a system of relatively inexpensive and simple construction which utilizes the phenomenon known as the "Coanda effect" to entrain the free end or tail of a moving web of flexible material, change the direction of the web tail laterally in the web plane to a predetermined degree and direct it to a predetermined offset location such as a rope nip of the type commonly employed in paper machines and the like.